Agriculture: Wheat

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much wheat grown in the United Kingdom has been used for the production of ethanol in each of the last five years; and how the price paid to farmers growing wheat for that purpose compares with that of wheat grown for food.

Lord De Mauley: There is no specific published data on the amount of wheat grown in the UK that is used for bioethanol. However we can provide an estimate. There is no data on wheat use for bioethanol production in
	the UK prior to 2010 as the first UK plant only started production in early 2010. From 2010, data collected by The Department for Transport under the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) provide information on the volume of bioethanol supplied to the UK road transport market with information on the feedstock and the country of origin of the feedstock. By applying appropriate conversion factors it is possible to derive the equivalent UK wheat tonnages used and associated wheat areas (Table 1). The RTFO data exclude UK biofuel production from UK grown wheat which may be subsequently exported, although the 2010/11 figure also includes an estimate of bioethanol produced from wheat and used for other markets or exported. Similarly, data is not available on wheat grown in the UK which is exported for possible biofuel production outside the UK.
	Specific information on the prices paid to UK farmers growing wheat for bioethanol production is not available as this would be the subject of confidential commercial arrangements. However, overall prices would be expected to be in line with prices for feed wheat and driven by supply and demand factors.
	
		
			 Table 1: UK wheat areas used to produce bioethanol 2008/9 - 2011/12 
			 (RTFO Year: April to March) Volume of bioethanol (million litres)(a) Tonnage of crop implied ('000 tonnes)(b) Wheat yield (t/ha)(c)(d) Area implied (thousand hectares) and % of UK total wheat area(d) 
			 April 2009 - March 2010 0.9 3 7.9 0.3 (0%) 
			 April 2010 - March 2011(a) 211.9 581 7.7 75.4 (4%)(e) 
			 April 2011 - March 2012 17.9 49 7.7 6.3 (0.3%) 
		
	
	The RTFO data covers a financial year, for example April 2008 to March 2009. The crop yield figure used to calculate the implied area would be based on the yield achieved for the crop harvested in that same season (typically between July – Sept).
	(a) Includes an estimated 92 million tonnes of bioethanol produced from UK wheat and used for markets other than UK Road Transport. It is possible to derive this estimate for 2010 by comparing the RTFO figures with results from the DECC “Liquid Biofuels” Survey. However, subsequent temporary closures of the processing plant have meant a significant decrease in bioethanol production suggesting little would have been available for export.
	(b) All wheat volumes grown on previously cropped land.
	(c) Conversion: 365 litres bioethanol = 1 tonne wheat grain (at 15% moisture). Source: Department for Transport commissioned research.
	(d) Source: Defra June Survey of Agriculture and Defra annual Cereal and Oilseed Rape Production Survey (In 2012 the Cereal Production Survey and Oilseed Rape Production Survey were brought together to reduce costs Cereal Production Survey).
	(e) The significant increase in wheat usage in 2010/11 was due to the start up of a large bioethanol plant in the UK. The plant began production in 2010 but closed temporarily in May 2011 due to market conditions, resulting in the reduced wheat volumes seen in 2011/12

Bangladesh

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that the political and security situation in Bangladesh is such as to justify the European Union sending observers for the general election in that country on 5 January 2014.

Baroness Warsi: The political and security situation in Bangladesh remains fluid ahead of scheduled elections on 5 January. Political participation is a crucial element in the democratic process, and we believe that the true mark of a mature, functioning democracy is peaceful, credible elections that express the genuine will of the voters. We have been clear with all sides that violence, intimidation and confrontational action, including arbitrary use of detention and the imposition of hartals or blockades, is not conducive to dialogue or building confidence in the pre electoral environment.
	The Bangladesh Election Commission has formally requested the EU to send observers for upcoming elections. We believe that an EU Observer Mission can be an invaluable tool to monitor the conduct of the election against internationally agreed standards, and make recommendations for further strengthening of the electoral process in future. Impartial monitoring
	by bodies such as the EU and other organisations is particularly important in highly polarised environments such as Bangladesh, which has already seen significant pre-election violence. We very much hope therefore that political and security conditions will enable a mission to deploy.

Banking: Directors

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many applications from individuals to become directors of United Kingdom banks have been rejected by the regulators, and how many applications withdrawn, since May 2010.

Lord Deighton: During the period 1 May 2010 and 31 October 2013, the regulators (FSA/PRA/FCA) received 1,086 applications, in respect of 924 individuals (an individual can perform more than one controlled function at the same time), for approval to perform Director, Non-Executive Director or Chief Executive controlled functions at UK incorporated Banks. 60 of these applications, in respect of 49 individuals, were withdrawn during the application process. No applications were rejected.
	No applications were rejected in any of the financial years 2001-02 to 2009-10.

Banks: Co-operative Bank

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have approved, or given an indication of an expectation that they will approve, applications from representatives of Silver Point and Aurelius Capital Management to join the Board of the Co-operative Banking Group.

Lord Deighton: The Government has no role in approving Directors to sit on the boards of private companies. The Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority are responsible under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 for approving applications to perform controlled functions such as being a director, in banks and other authorised financial services firms. They will remain responsible for approving directors of banks as senior managers when the provisions in the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Bill, which implement the recommendations of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, come into force.

Bees

Lord Hanningfield: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to provide any funding for the British Beekeepers Association for its research into diseases such as colony collapse disorder and Nosema ceranae.

Lord De Mauley: There are no plans to provide funding to the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) for this purpose. The BBKA is not a recognised research body, but provides funding to other bodies to undertake work on its behalf.
	Defra is already providing £2.5 million over five years (from 2010/11) towards the £10 million Insect Pollinators Initiative which is being jointly funded with the Scottish Government, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council and Wellcome Trust. Nine projects are being funded, one of which is focussing on the effects of Nosema Ceranae. The results of these projects are beginning to emerge and have been published in both scientific journals and the beekeeping press. The full findings of this initiative are expected in 2014 and 2015.
	Defra also commissions research projects which support bee health policy and operations. The National Bee Unit (NBU) recently completed a project on the control and risk management of honey bee pests and diseases, and the final report for this project has been published on the Defra science pages on www.gov.uk. This did not include colony collapse disorder as this is the term used in the USA to describe the high colony losses it has suffered in recent years. Although there have been losses in the UK, we have no evidence to suggest that this condition is present. However, the NBU monitors colony losses as part of its bee health programme.

Benefits

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they propose to do with historical files, including medical evidence, relating to claims from people with long-term conditions for disability living allowance when those people are transferred to personal independence payments.

Lord Freud: Once someone has been invited to claim PIP, and a decision that they are entitled to PIP has been made, their entitlement to DLA will end. To support the requirements of the Data Protection Act: the DLA file will be securely destroyed 14 months after the decision to end the claim or 14 months after a decision on any outstanding issues, such as an on-going prosecution or appeal, following the end of the claim.
	Where existing DLA claimants are invited to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) the Department will ask the claimant whether they want any of the evidence on the DLA file to be used as evidence in support of their claim to PIP. This evidence will then be copied and made available, together with any other relevant evidence, for the assessment providers and decision makers.

Children: Custody

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to end the practice of detaining in custody mentally ill children awaiting psychiatric assessment.

Earl Howe: Police forces should work closely with local mental health professionals to ensure that people they deal with who have mental health difficulties receive a supportive response from the most appropriate agency. All services should work together to minimise the chance of children and young people with a mental illness ending up in a police cell.
	Using police cells in this way should happen as little as possible and only where there are circumstances where it is unavoidable, or where the person's behaviour poses a risk that cannot be managed in any other way.
	The forthcoming Mental Health Crisis Concordat will ask that localities all take steps to commission mental health services that meet the needs of children and young people, and it will specifically state that police custody should never be used as a place of safety just because health services are not available.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 26 November (WA 261–2), whether one of the five returnees to the Democratic Republic of the Congo who left the United Kingdom on 7 June 2012 was taken to the British Embassy on 3 August 2012; and whether the staff there had any contact with his relations in the United Kingdom.

Baroness Warsi: No returnee was brought to the Embassy on 3 August 2012. We are not aware of any Embassy staff being contacted by any of the returnees' families in the United Kingdom - and no Embassy staff have sought to make such contact.

Denning Inquiry

Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the files of the 1963 Denning Inquiry into the Profumo affair have been selected for permanent preservation with a view to eventual release at the National Archives.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: I can confirm that the Denning Inquiry papers held by the Cabinet Office have been selected for permanent preservation.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 21 November (WA 227–28), how many clinics are licensed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA); what was the rise in the aggregate number of intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles carried out at each licensed clinic over the past five years; how many licensed clinics have been investigated by the HFEA; and what were the findings of those investigations.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it currently licenses 133 clinics of which 89 are licensed to create embryos, including by the use of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The aggregate number of ICSI cycles carried out is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Year ICSI Cycles 
			 2008 20226 
			 2009 22752 
			 2010 23913 
			 2011 25339 
			 2012 25149 
		
	
	The information was extracted from the HFEA Register on 26 November 2013 and shows fresh ICSI cycles with both patient's own and donated eggs.
	The HFEA does not carry out routine investigations of the number of ICSI cycles carried out by licensed clinics. On the basis of a patient complaint the HFEA did carry out such an investigation at one clinic in 2012 and the report is published on the HFEA website:
	http://guide.hfea.gov.uk/guide/ShowPDF.aspx?ID =5428&merge=

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 23 January (WA 216–7), whether there is still a consensus on the risks posed by multiple births and the actions that should be taken to avoid them; and how the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority will use its existing powers to enforce its multiple births policy following the recent legal action in the High Court by Mohamed Taranissi.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the consensus on the risks posed by multiple births remains despite the recent legal action referred by the Noble Lord. That
	consensus can be found in a statement from the HFEA and relevant professional bodies of May 2011 and is available at:
	www.hfea.gov.uk/3121.html.
	The HFEA also advises that it remains strongly committed to reducing the incidence of multiple births following in vitro fertilisation and that all the means of enforcing the policy, with the exception of Licence Condition T123, remain in place.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 28 February 2008 (WA 135) and by Earl Howe on 22 January (WA 194–95), whether it remains the case that “the lack of publicly funded fertility treatments is the most significant obstacle to an acceptance of changing embryo transfer practices towards a reduction in the twin rate in the United Kingdom”; if so, what evidence they hold that the incidence of multiple births is significantly greater in particular clinics where all or most treatment is privately funded; what is the relationship between the success rates published by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the twin rate for individual clinics; and whether they consider that the influence that the HFEA exerts on embryo transfer practices to encourage a reduction in the twin rate would be altered if it were an economic regulator.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the statement to which the Noble Lord refers can be found in the October 2006 report of the HFEA's Expert Group on Multiple Births after In vitro fertilisation (IVF). The references and rationale which the Group used to come to this conclusion are outlined in the report. The data that the HFEA holds about the incidence of multiple birth rates in the United Kingdom does not conclusively suggest that the incidence of multiple births is significantly greater in clinics where most treatment is privately funded.
	Success rates and multiple birth rates for individual clinics are available through the HFEA's “Choose a Fertility Clinic” function.
	www.hfea.gov.uk/chooseafertilityclinic.
	Since the introduction of the multiple birth rate policy the incidence of multiple births has fallen and success rates have remained broadly steady.
	The HFEA, in collaboration with professional bodies, has a range of tools to influence embryo transfer practice in the Sector. It is not clear whether additional powers of economic regulation would alter the HFEA's influence on such practice.
	While it is for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to decide on the level of provision of health services, including fertility treatment, taking account of the needs of all their population, the Department has an expectation that CCGs should make progress to implement the recommendations of the NICE Fertility Guideline, including the offer of three cycles of IVF for eligible couples.

EU: Eggs

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord De Mauley on 23 January (WA 207), which European Union countries still remain non-compliant with the conventional cage ban; and what steps they are taking in relation to egg imports to ensure that all states are in compliance with the ban.

Lord De Mauley: Italy and Greece remain non-complaint with the conventional cage ban. The Commission has referred these countries to the European Court of Justice and formal hearing dates are awaited.
	When the ban came into force on 1 January 2012, the Commission laid down conditions that non-compliant Member States should not export shell eggs or egg products from hens reared in conventional cages to the rest of the EU. In addition, the Government’s Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) continue to carry out risk based surveillance on batches of imported shell egg. If AHVLA are suspicious of any particular batch of eggs they will contact the Competent Authority in the country of origin to check compliance.
	Ministers have expressed frustration at the lack of progress on compliance with the conventional cage ban on numerous occasions, including in bilateral meetings and correspondence with Commissioner Borg.

EU: Pigs

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord De Mauley on 23 January (WA 208), what is their current assessment of compliance by the Republic of Ireland and Denmark with the sow stall ban in European Union Directive 2008/120/EC; which European Union countries remain non-compliant with the ban; and whether they will now impose any restrictions on the import of pig meat from European Union countries in breach of the Directive.

Lord De Mauley: 13 Member States are officially compliant with the EU sow stall ban and the majority of non-compliant countries are now informally reporting over 95% compliance levels.
	The European Commission has not publicly released any further details. However, it is working proactively to ensure compliance as soon as possible and has already issued formal notice of infringement proceedings which it expects to follow up in the new year.
	Member States cannot impose unilateral trade restrictions for welfare reasons.

EU: REACH Regulation

Lord Hoyle: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to develop alternatives to substances banned under the European Union’s REACH Regulation.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assistance they are providing to small and medium-sized enterprises to develop alternatives to substances banned under the European Union’s REACH Regulation.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government from which regulatory agency small and medium-sized enterprises will need to seek permission in order to develop alternatives to substances banned under the European Union’s REACH Regulation; and whether they will be entitled to appeal if refused such permission.

Lord De Mauley: I will answer questions HL3848, HL3849 and HL3850 together.
	The Government does not provide direct assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises to develop alternatives to substances which are banned or otherwise controlled under the REACH Regulation. However, we are working with the UK Chemicals Stakeholder Forum to provide practical proposals for action by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to work up guidance specifically aimed at the needs of small businesses. The Forum is also working on ways to increase awareness of authorisation amongst these businesses, combined with targeted advice. While existing material from a range of sources is often of good quality, it is little known and needs to be more widely publicised. This is also true of advice on how to identify alternatives to substances identified as hazardous under REACH. The Forum itself published a Guide to Substitution in 2010.
	Companies do not need permission from any agency to develop alternatives. A company must register with ECHA any substances manufactured or imported in quantities of more than 1 tonne a year. A registration dossier should contain data on a substance’s intrinsic properties, uses, and potential risks and recommended risk management measures. The Agency can only reject the registration if the dossier remains incomplete following a request to the registrant to supply missing information. In that event, the registrant can appeal to the independent, European-level Board of Appeal.

Finance: Payday Loans

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether proposed caps on interest rates charged on loans to borrowers by payday lenders will apply to lenders based elsewhere in the European Union or European Economic Area.

Lord Deighton: Lenders based elsewhere in the European Economic Area (EEA) are not subject to UK regulatory requirements, including the proposed cap on the cost of payday loans. However, they must comply with a range of relevant European Directives, in particular the Consumer Credit Directive, which cover all lenders in the EU. Where the UK regulator has concerns about an EEA-based lender's compliance with Directive requirements, it can pursue this with the relevant regulator in the country where the firm is established, through established concordats and procedures.
	The Government has always kept the case for a cap under review as the market has evolved. With growing evidence in support of a cap, and emerging lessons from other countries—especially the cap on costs introduced in Australia this year—the Government believes it is right to use the opportunity of the Banking Reform Bill for Parliament to be clear on its intention.

Gaza

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to take any action to lift the blockade of Gaza.

Baroness Warsi: We are calling on Israel to ease their restrictions on Gaza and on the Israeli, Egyptian and Palestinian authorities to make determined efforts to open up legal trade and movement for the people of Gaza.
	The Minister of State for the Middle East, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Mr Robertson) made representations on Gaza to the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister and discussed it with the Palestinian President and Foreign Minister during his visit to the region on 4-5 November.

Government Departments: Ministerial Meetings

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions Mark Hoban MP had meetings or telephone conversations with the Co-operative Group and the Co-operative Bank and its directors, officers and advisers while serving as a minister in HM Treasury.

Lord Deighton: Treasury Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. HM Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations.
	This is available online at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel
	Information about all Ministerial phone calls is not routinely collected and is not held centrally.

Government Departments: Telephone Numbers

Lord Tyler: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any departments or agencies receive revenue from calls made to non-geographic telephone numbers, via revenue-sharing schemes or by any other means.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Each department is responsible for its own telephony policy and choice of prefix for its contact numbers.
	However I can inform you that the Cabinet Office has convened a cross-departmental group which includes DWP, HMRC, DfT, BIS, DH and Ofcom to consider the issue of customer telephone lines and to publish cross-departmental guidance on prefix number selection.

Government: Ministerial Meetings

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions, and on what dates, the Secretary of State for Health has met (1) the Chief Executive of NHS England, (2) the Chair of NHS England, (3) the Chief Executive of Monitor, (4) the Chief Executive of the Care Quality Commission, and (5) the Chair of the Care Quality Commission, since the passage of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

Earl Howe: Ministers regularly meet the chief executives and chairs of these organisations, and other delivery partners, to discuss a wide range of issues touching on our responsibilities for the health and care system.

Health: Autism

Baroness Browning: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have regularly to review the Adult Autism Strategy, following the first review which is due to report in March 2014.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of clinical commissioning groups in England have yet to appoint an autism commissioning lead.

Earl Howe: All 152 local authority (LA) areas took part in the recent national autism self- assessment exercise. The initial findings of this exercise will be published later this month by Public Health England. Although this exact question was not asked, only one area (0.7%) did not have a named joint commissioner/senior manager responsible for services for adults with autism, and that area said they were working with their clinical commissioning group. A total of eight (5.3 %) areas rated themselves as red when asked “Is your local Clinical Commissioning Group or Clinical Commissioning Groups (including the Support Service) engaged in the planning and implementation of the strategy in your local area?” Red was defined as they had none or minimal engagement with their LA in planning and implementing the adult autism strategy. One further area did not answer the question.
	The Autism Act 2009 states that the Secretary of State must keep the Autism Strategy under review and may revise it. The current review is due to be completed by the end of March 2014. No date has so far been set for a further review of the strategy.

Health: Cancer

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many cases of cervical cancer have been reported in women who have been vaccinated with Gardasil.

Earl Howe: The National Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Immunisation Programme began in the United Kingdom in September 2008. In 2012-13 the vaccine used in the programme changed to Gardasil from Cervarix. The girls vaccinated with Gardasil as part of the national HPV immunisation programme will currently be between 12 and 14 years of age.
	Cervical screening starts at the age of 25 and the peak age of cervical cancer is at around 35 years. Therefore, Public Health England (PHE) currently has limited data on the effect of vaccination on cervical abnormalities and cancers.
	PHE is developing enhanced surveillance systems to assess vaccine efficacy against cervical cancer and disease. This will include surveillance of women under 30 years old diagnosed with cervical cancer.

Health: Human Papilloma Virus

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the elimination of two human papilloma virus strains through vaccination of young girls on the risk of increase of pre-cancerous lesions caused by other strains.

Earl Howe: Public Health England (PHE) is evaluating the impact of the Human Papilloma (HPV) immunisation programme on HPV infection and disease. PHE, and its predecessor organisation, the Health Protection Agency, has been monitoring the prevalence of type-specific genital HPV infections in young women in England through surveys that use opportunistic sources of residual clinical specimens.
	Data analysed in 2012 have shown a reduction in the two HPV types covered by the vaccine. As well as monitoring the impact of immunisation on the vaccine HPV-types, this surveillance also monitors the frequency of infection with non-vaccine HPV types. Analyses of these data are on-going to determine whether there is any evidence of replacement with, or cross-protection against, non-vaccine types. PHE is also developing surveillance systems to assess the frequency of vaccine and non- vaccine types in cervical disease: data about infection in vaccinated women with cervical disease will start to accrue from 2016.

Health: Ophthalmology

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the average waiting time was for NHS cataract treatment (1) in each region of England, and (2) as measured by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Earl Howe: Information covering waiting times for each region of England is in the first table.
	The Organisation for Economic Co-operation (OECD) publishes information for the United Kingdom as a whole. The UK-wide information published by the OECD is in the second table.
	
		
			 Mean and median average waiting times1,2 for inpatient3 cataract4 procedures5 at SHA of treatment and England level for the year 2012-13. 
			 Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			 Strategic Health Authority Average Waiting Time  
			  Mean Median 
			 Q30 - North East SHA 70.2 68 
			 Q31 - North West SHA 70.2 63 
			 Q32 - Yorkshire & the Humber SHA 56.6 48 
			 Q33 - East Midlands SHA 61.9 55 
			 Q34 - West Midlands SHA 77.5 70 
			 Q35 - East of England SHA 63.2 56 
			 Q36 - London SHA 67.3 59 
			 Q37 - South East Coast SHA 66.5 58 
		
	
	
		
			 Q38 - South Central SHA 67.6 59 
			 Q39 - South West SHA 69.7 65 
			 England 67.1 59 
		
	
	Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC)
	
		
			 Mean and Median average waiting times1,2 for inpatient3 cataract4 procedures5 in the United Kingdom for 2011-12 
			  Mean Median 
			 United Kingdom 66 59 
		
	
	Source: OECD - Health at a Glance 2013
	http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/health-at-a-glance-2013/cataract-surgery-waiting-times-from-specialist-assessment-to-treatment-2006-to-2012-or-2011_health_glance-2013-graph147-en
	Notes:
	1. Time waited (days)
	Time waited (days) statistics from HES are not the same as published Referral to Treatment (RTT) time waited statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients between decision to admit and admission to hospital within a given period. Published RU waiting statistics measure the time waited between referral and start of treatment.
	2. Total admissions with eligible time waited information
	The total number of eligible admissions from which the mean and median time waited are derived. This Includes waiting list and booked admissions, but not planned admissions. A waiting list admission is one in which a patient has been admitted electively into hospital from a waiting list, having been given no date of admission at the time a decision to admit was made. Booked admissions are those in which the patient was admitted electively having been given a date at the time it was decided to admit. Planned admissions are excluded as they are usually part of a planned sequence of clinical care determined mainly on clinical criteria, which, for example, could require a series of events, perhaps taking place every three months, six months or annually.
	3. Inpatients
	Inpatients are patients who are admitted to hospital and occupy a bed, including both admissions where an overnight stay is planned and day cases.
	4. Primary/Secondary Diagnosis
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 19 (13 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 6 prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.
	ICD-10 Diagnosis codes used exclusively in a primary position:
	Q120 - Congenital cataract,
	H25 - Senile cataract,
	H26 - Other cataract;
	ICD-10 Diagnosis codes used exclusively in a secondary position:
	H280 - Diabetic cataract,
	H281 - Cataract in other endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases,
	H282 - Cataract in other diseases classified elsewhere.
	5. Main procedure
	The first recorded procedure or intervention in each episode, usually the most resource intensive procedure or intervention performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main procedure when looking at admission details, (e.g. time waited), but a more complete count of episodes with a particular procedure is obtained by looking at the main and the secondary procedures.
	OPCS Procedure codes used:
	C71 - Extracapsular extraction of lens
	C72 - Intracapsular extraction of lens
	C73 - Incision of capsule of lens
	C74 - Other extraction of lens
	C75 - Prosthesis of lens
	C77 - Other operations on lens
	Data quality
	HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The HSCIC liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.

Health: Ophthalmology

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the average waiting time was for NHS cataract surgery for a second eye; and how that compares to the average waiting time in other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries for international benchmarking purposes.

Earl Howe: The Department does not hold this information in the format requested, and the main international sources for health data do not contain comparisons for waiting times for cataract treatment.

Health: Ophthalmology

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the cost of treating elderly patients with cataracts in NHS hospitals in the last year for which figure are available.

Earl Howe: The information is not available in the format requested.
	While the Department does collect the cost of cataract procedures in hospitals, they are not sufficiently detailed to show the costs of treating elderly patients with cataracts.
	The following table contains total reported cost information from the 2012-13 reference costs (the most recent year for which data has been published) for collection categories which relate explicitly to cataracts.
	
		
			 Description Total cost £million (2,3) 
			 Enhanced Cataract Surgery, with CC (1) Score 2+ 2.1 
			 Enhanced Cataract Surgery, with CC Score 0-1 6 
		
	
	
		
			 Phacoemulsification Cataract Extraction and Lens Implant, with CC Score 5+ 1 
			 Phacoemulsification Cataract Extraction and Lens Implant, with CC Score 2-4 38.1 
			 Phacoemulsification Cataract Extraction and Lens Implant, with CC Score 0-1 201.8 
			 Non-Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgery, with CC Score 1+ 3.6 
			 Non-Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgery, with CC Score 0 4.4 
			 Total cost 257 
		
	
	Notes
	1. CC, complications and comorbidities
	2. The total reported cost figures have been rounded to the nearest £100,000 and cover day case, elective (including excess bed days), non-elective (including excess bed days), procedures in outpatients and regular day or night attender activity.
	3. The figures do not include the cost of any treatment provided as part of an outpatient attendance. This is because costs relating to cataract treatment in this setting are not collected separately, but will be included in the total cost of outpatient attendances for ophthalmology, which in 2012-13 was £490.8 million.
	Source: www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-reference-costs-2012-to-2013

Healthcare: Costs

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 18 November (WA 146–7), how the figure of an annual reduction in the United Kingdom payments to the Republic of Ireland of 1.13 per cent for pensioner healthcare costs was calculated and decided; what are the savings to date from that reduction; how the United Kingdom current liability to the Republic of Ireland of 40 per cent is calculated; what arrangements are being put in place for the period from 2013–14 and beyond; and whether they will place the relevant correspondence on the process and the most recent reduction to £246,828,154 per annum in the Library of the House.

Earl Howe: I refer the noble Lord to my previous reply and the extract from the letter of 11 July 2011 included in that reply. In that extract, it sets out that for the period of the current arrangement, 2010-2013, United Kingdom liability would fall by 1.13% a year, starting at 40% and resulting in a UK liability of 35.48% in 2013. The 1.13% reduction was agreed after both parties agreed this figure as the average downward trend in UK liability for pensioners since the start of the bilateral agreement in 1971. The saving for this period as a result of the current arrangement is around €80 million over the four years.
	Discussions on arrangements for 2013-2014 between the UK and Ireland are continuing.

House of Lords: Confidential Data

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask the Chairman of Committees whether members of the House of Lords were consulted about plans to store emails and other confidential personal information on servers based overseas; and, if so, when.

Lord Laird: To ask the Chairman of Committees what steps the House of Lords Administration has taken to ensure that confidential data held by the Administration have not been transferred abroad without authorisation.

Lord Sewel: Some information is already kept on servers located in other countries under “cloud” arrangements. The sensitivity of the information is assessed as a part of a rigorous bi-cameral accreditation process prior to entering into a contract with a cloud supplier. The sensitivity of the information is a key element in determining where it might ultimately be stored. Decisions about information security are overseen by the Senior Information Risk Owners in both Houses (currently the Reading Clerk in the House of Lords), the Director of Parliamentary ICT and the Parliamentary Security Director.
	Over the next year, Parliament will be upgrading its office applications to Microsoft Office 365, for use by Members and staff. As a result, more information – including Members’ emails and files – will be hosted by Microsoft on servers in other countries within the European Union. The use of Microsoft Office 365 has been accredited by government as part of its G-Cloud framework. Information held in Parliament’s applications will not be transferred to servers outside the European Union.
	The use of “cloud” arrangements, and the upgrade to Microsoft Office 365, is part of Parliament’s ICT Strategy. The Information Committee endorsed the Strategy in its Annual Report 2010-11 (HL Paper 190) and receive regular updates on the implementation of the Strategy.
	Members have not been consulted specifically about the use of servers abroad. However, articles about the ICT Strategy, the “cloud” arrangements and Microsoft Office 365 have been published in Red Benches in October 2011 (No. 27), February 2012 (No. 29) and October/November 2013 (No. 39). These articles invited feedback from Members and encouraged Members to attend the PICT stand at the Members’ Open Day on 6 November, where PICT staff briefed Members on the upgrade to Microsoft Office 365.
	All Members will be written to individually before their data is moved to Microsoft Office 365.

House of Lords: Debates

Lord Marlesford: To ask the Leader of the House what arrangements are in place to ensure that debates held in the House of Lords are drawn to the attention of the appropriate
	departmental officials; and when the debate on immigration and security held on 4 July was drawn to the attention of Sir Charles Montgomery, Director General of the Border Force.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Departmental officials brief ministers in advance of debates and are present in the Chamber during those debates. Relevant parliamentary matters are discussed regularly between Ministerial private offices and senior officials. The debate on immigration and security was brought to Sir Charles Montgomery’s attention immediately ahead of his meeting with the noble Lord on 30 July.

Housing: Help to Buy

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered extending the Help to Buy scheme to include “off-plan” properties in order to prevent investors buying such properties with a view to making a profit.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: It is already possible to use the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme to purchase ‘off-plan' properties and this is a very common way for anyone to buy new build property. Developers sell the homes they build to a broad range of purchasers and the Government does not seek to intervene in these commercial decisions. However, we would encourage the industry to ensure that off-plan properties are marketed domestically and not just to overseas buyers.

Insurance

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they assessed the impact of alternative business structures on the insurance industry; and if so what was the result.

Lord McNally: The provisions in Part 5 of the Legal Services Act 2007 for alternative business structures were commenced by SI 2011/2196 and a full Regulatory Impact Assessment, together with a detailed Equality Impact Assessment, was published on 5 September 2011. There is no specific assessment of the impact on the insurance industry. The Legal Services Board is planning to assess the impact of alternative business structures on the legal services market in 2014.

Legal Aid

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of their proposals to reform legal aid on ensuring that people from diverse backgrounds enter and progress through the legal profession.

Lord McNally: On 5 September 2013 the Government published its response to the Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system consultation and, simultaneously, published proposals for further consultation on a modified model of procurement for criminal legal aid and two options for revising the criminal advocacy fee scheme. The consultation closed on 1 November 2013.
	Alongside the consultation we published an Equalities Statement (Annex F) and seven Impact Assessments which together form our analysis of the impact of these proposals. They can be found online here: https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/transforming-legal-aid-next-steps

NHS: Constitution

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Earl Howe on 19 November (HL Deb, col 866), when they expect the joint strategy further to embed the NHS constitution to be published.

Earl Howe: The Department has been informed by NHS England that the joint strategy to further embed the NHS Constitution will be published in early 2014. The development of the joint strategy is being led by NHS England on behalf of Health Education England, the Department and clinical commissioning groups.

NHS: Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the role of the Human Rights Act 1998 in securing the public inquiry into the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust and subsequently securing damages for the relatives of those who had lost their lives there.

Earl Howe: The Government considered its obligations under Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (both to protect the lives of patients and properly investigate any deaths or incidents of inhumane or treatment) as a result of the events at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust hospital ("the Trust"). The Government decided that
	these obligations had been met by a combination of investigations and processes before the decision had been taken to hold the Public Inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005. This included inquests and the availability of civil proceedings, as well as reports and reviews commissioned by the Department and actions taken by the Trust, such as: — the Healthcare Commission's report in March 2009 which identified the failings of the Trust;— the subsequent reports (prompted by the Health Care Commission 2009 report) of Professor Sir George Alberti (National Clinical Director for Emergency Care) into the Trust's procedure for emergency admissions and treatment and of Dr David Colin-Thome (National Director for Primary Care) on how the broader health system was not able to detect the failings sooner, both published on 29 April 2009;— the review by the National Quality Board to look at how organisations work effectively together in patients' best interests, published in February 2010; and— the series of steps taken by the Trust in its action plan from March 2009 to ensure the necessary corrective action was being taken.
	Subsequently, on 21 July 2009, the then Secretary of State the Rt. Hon Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) announced an inquiry via a written ministerial statement under the NHS Act 2006 and chaired by Robert Francis QC. The reasons for the inquiry were set out in the statement, which included that the inquiry's principal focus was on ensuring that patients or their families had an opportunity to raise their concerns.
	On 24 February 2010, Robert Francis QC published the final report of this inquiry: one of its 18 recommendations was that “the Department of Health should consider instigating an independent examination of the operation of the commissioning, supervisory and regulatory bodies in relation to their monitoring role at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust with the objective of learning lessons about how failing hospitals are identified”.
	On 9 June 2010, the former Secretary of State the Rt hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Andrew Lansley) announced that there would be a Public Inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 to address these issues, and confirmed Robert Francis QC would also chair this inquiry.
	A failure to comply with the Human Rights Act was not therefore a factor in commissioning the second Francis Inquiry. Rather the Public Inquiry was commissioned in response to the need identified in the first NHS Inquiry report for an independent examination of the broader regulatory environment in which the Trust operated.
	Any claims for compensation arising out of the care provided by the Trust between 2002 and 2010 were handled by the NHS Litigation Authority on behalf of the Trust.
	Full and final settlement of all potential claims was agreed within a short timescale and the majority were concluded before the first public inquiry commenced in July 2009, with the remainder settled shortly thereafter.

NHS: Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Earl Howe on 19 November (HL Deb, col 869), how many (1) consultants, and (2) junior doctors, have been replaced at the Mid-Staffordshire Hospital Trust.

Earl Howe: The information requested is not centrally held. The noble Lord may wish to approach the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust directly, which may hold the information requested.

Palestine

Lord Turnberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what encouragement they are giving to the Palestinian Authority to accept the invitation by Mr Netanyahu for its President, Mahmood Abbas, to address the Knesset.

Baroness Warsi: We have not discussed this specific invitation with President Abbas. However, we continue to encourage both President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu to demonstrate further bold leadership to advance peace and build trust.

Prisons: Equality and Discrimination

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the rank, and appointment within the institution, of the nominated equality manager in every prison, young offender institution and secure training centre in England and Wales.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether every equality manager in the Prison Service has been trained for that role.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether equality training is mandatory for all Prison Service staff.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether all those responsible for investigating Discrimination Incident Report Forms in the Prison Service have been trained for that task.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Discrimination Incident Report Forms relating to the Prison Service were received in October 2013.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Race Incident Report Forms relating to the Prison Service were received in October 2009.

Lord McNally: 1: In every prison, a designated manager has lead responsibility for co-ordination of equality work and issues. This would be undertaken at a minimum of pay band 7 but may be a more senior role dependent
	on the size and complexity of the prison. This appointment is instructed through Prison Service Instruction 32/2011 Ensuring Equality. This applies to all prison establishments and includes Young Offender Institutions. Secure Training Centres do not have a nominated ‘equality manager’, instead the Director maintains overall responsibility for these important areas
	2: There is an expectation that Equality Managers will complete the available training (e.g. Civil Service Learning Equality Modules) but we do not hold records centrally of those who have completed the training. This information can only be collated at a disproportionate cost. This would involve contacting every establishment to find out what training each staff member has completed.
	3: Equality training is not mandatory for all prison staff. However, all new entrant Prison Officers will receive an eight hour equality specific module on their new entrant training and non-uniformed staff will receive an equality element within their induction into the prison. Prison Service Instruction 32/2011 - Ensuring Equality states “Governors must ensure that staff are aware of their equalities responsibilities.” A range of Equality Training is available and publicised, including those on Civil Service Learning (CSL) which is accessible online. The courses available for Equalities are: Introduction to Diversity and Equality, Equality and Diversity Essentials, Disability Awareness, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Awareness and Unconscious Bias.
	4: NOMS does not mandate that all staff investigating complaints or diversity incidents/complaints attend specific training. DIRFs are investigated in line with the processes for regular complaints where all managers conduct the investigations.
	5 & 6: With regards to how many DIRFs relating to the Prison Service were received in October 2013 and how many RIRFs relating to the Prison Service were received in October 2009; this information is not held centrally. It cannot be provided other than at a disproportionate cost. It would mean contacting every establishment and ask them to look through their DIRF paperwork to extract which, if any, were related to the Prison Service. The results would then need to be collated at the centre. A similar situation exists for RIRFs except that many prisons have archived this information, therefore this would take even longer.

Prisons: Open Prisons

Baroness Corston: To ask Her Majesty’s Government where female prisoners will be able to be kept according to open prison conditions following the closure of Askham Grange and East Sutton Park open prisons.

Lord McNally: Implementation of the National Offender Management Service women’s custodial estate review recommendations will provide women across the estate with improved resettlement opportunities at all
	establishments. The creation of a strategic prison hub for women will help female offenders to serve their sentence as close to home as possible while getting access to rehabilitative services they need, both in prison and into the community. The resettlement prisons will provide an appropriate physical environment to support women’s caring responsibilities through family visits, with the aim of maintaining family ties. It will also enable women to undertake work outside of prison which will further support rehabilitation.

Rape

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 25 November, how they will ensure that both new and established rape crisis centres will continue to be locally and sustainably funded under the new commissioning arrangements.

Lord McNally: The Government is committed to supporting victims of rape and sexual abuse. From 2011 the Ministry of Justice has provided nearly £4m per year to support 77 Rape Support Centres, including commissioning and opening 13 new Rape Support Centres in areas of need, with a further 2 new centres planned for 2014/15. This is part of the Coalition Commitment to provide stable funding for rape support centres as part of the Violence Against Women and Girls strategy
	The Ministry of Justice launched a £4m Rape Support Fund which will commence from April 2014, when the current Fund ends, for two years with the option to extend for a further year. This is a joint commissioning process with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime who are offering an additional £1.26m per year to fund services across London.

Roads: M4

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Kramer on 6 November (WA 58) regarding the M4, whether the introduction of the bus lane in 1999 was a factor in the decision to reduce the speed limit to 60 miles per hour.

Baroness Kramer: In 1999, a package of measures to improve network performance was implemented on the M4. These included the bus lane and reductions in speed limits to 40 mph on the elevated section and 50mph through junctions 4 and 3.
	Following a review of the operation of this section of the M4 in 2002, the 50mph limit was increased to 60mph.
	The Highways Agency considers that the speed limits along this section of the M4 continue to be appropriate and currently has no plans to propose any alterations to them.

Roads: Severn Bridge

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for tolls on the Severn Bridge when the current toll agreements end.

Baroness Kramer: The Government is committed to the continued successful operation of these vital crossings. No decisions have been taken on future management or tolling arrangements on the Crossings after the end of the current concession. However, the Government has been clear that there will be some outstanding costs that it has incurred relating to the Crossings that need to be recovered. Any future arrangements will also need to make proper provision for future maintenance of these important Crossings and reflect the needs of road users in both England and Wales.

Winter Fuel Allowance

Lord Dubs: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people not currently living in the United Kingdom are entitled to the winter fuel allowance; what is the total value of such claims; and how many recipients there are in each country.

Lord Freud: The information requested can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/winter-fuel-payments-by-eea-country